Philippines declares 'state of rebellion' in Manila
Bloomberg News Service
MANILA — The Philippines declared a `state of rebellion' in Manila after four people died in street battles when supporters of the country's former president marched on the palace housing his successor Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
The government is accusing backers of former President Joseph Estrada of mounting a bid to overthrow Arroyo after he was arrested Wednesday on corruption charges. The order, allowing the government to call in the military to restore calm, will remain in place until leaders of the alleged revolt are arrested.
"This is a crime," said Rigoberto Tiglao, spokesman for the Philippine president. "Everything it takes to crush this rebellion, we will do."
Estrada fled Malacanang Palace and was replaced by Arroyo on Jan. 20 after her own supporters marched on the compound. He is charged with amassing about 4 billion pesos ($78 million) during his two-and-a-half years in office, an offense that carries the death penalty.
Supporters of Estrada have been demonstrating since his arrest and imprisonment Wednesday culminating today in the worst violence in the streets of the capital the late 1980s as police fired shots above the heads of demonstrators and two officers died when protestors tried to storm the palace. Two unidentified people were also killed in the clashes, GMA Network reported.
Arrest order
The government ordered the arrest of Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Gregorio Honasan and former police General Panfilo Lacson, a senatorial candidate, for inciting "sedition," said Reynaldo Berroya, Intelligence Chief of the Philippine National Police. Former Senator Ernesto Maceda and two active-duty generals are also among those the government ordered arrested.
Most of the demonstrators came from poor sections of the capital and nearby provinces, the main voters for Estrada when he swept to power in June 1998.
Speaking through one of his sons, Jose Victor Ejercito, Estrada appealed to the crowd for calm, Agence France-Presse reported. Estrada also defended the protesters, saying they were only fighting for the constitution — a reference to his claim that he is still the president.
Today's events may force Arroyo to cancel today's speech to labor groups, an annual event that presidents perform each year, Presidential Spokesman Tiglao said.
Junta attempt
"Their plan was to topple the legitimate government so that, if successful, they would set up their own junta," Arroyo said in a speech broadcast on television and radio. "They would rule over the country."
While the police pushed the marchers back from one of the gates of the compound earlier this morning, the more than six-hour effort to disperse them has had mixed success. Government forces fired warning shots and television pictures showed protesters burning property, including an overturned police car.
Demonstrators told British Broadcasting Corp. police recently fired directly at protesters instead of in the air, the TV network said. Officials denied this.
Between 5,000 and 8,000 people marched to the presidential compound, said General Edilberto Adan, spokesman of the military. About 20 were arrested, he said.
Police General Florencio Fianza, an official coordinating the dispersal near Malacanang, denied that police were firing at demonstrators and said rough handling by police of demonstrators, which may be occurring, wasn't sanctioned, he said on ABS-CBN News Channel.
Twelve police officers were also hurt. At least two dozen demonstrators were arrested and several police and media vehicles were burned or damaged, he said.
Politicians who support Estrada, including four senators, are to blame for the attempt to overthrow Arroyo and will be held accountable, said Renato Corona, Arroyo's chief of staff.
"There are politicians who incited people to overthrow the government," he said. "They have to answer for this. We are laying the blame squarely on these people who fired up the crowds and incited the people to go on a rampage."
Corona named Senators Miriam Defensor Santiago, Enrile and Honasan and former Senator Maceda. Maceda and Enrile denied the allegations on television.
A "power grab" on Sunday to oust her from office "fizzled out," Arroyo said yesterday in a speech commemorating her first 100 days in office.
Estrada was earlier today flown by helicopter from Manila to Laguna, a province south of the capital, the networks reported. Corona, though, said he had no official confirmation of this.
TV networks have been showing live pictures from the air of a blue-roofed detention house in Laguna surrounded by two wire fences. Two helicopters are nearby.
